Blogs

Key Takeaways During the September 2026 Israel desalination crisis, algae-derived organic matter got past pretreatment at multiple plants. Permeate conductivity became the check on whether the RO membranes were still delivering water that met drinking water standards (ENR, September 8, 2026). Fouling from algal gelatinous substances can degrade permeate quality hours before any visible pressure…

Key Takeaways Israel’s September 2026 algae bloom took five of six Mediterranean desalination plants offline — Ashkelon, Ashdod, Palmachim, Sorek A, and Sorek B. Together they normally supply around 80% of the country’s drinking water (Times of Israel, September 2, 2026). The government has approved a long-term plan to reach 2.3 billion cubic meters of…

Key Takeaways Israel’s September 2026 algae response included aerial dispersal of a copper-based algicide along roughly nine kilometers (5.6 miles) of coastline — biological control at the intake that still has to be verified with residual monitoring (Times of Israel, September 2026). Untreated wastewater also entered the picture. The UN reported large daily volumes of…

Key Takeaways In Israel’s September 2026 desalination crisis, Synechococcus cyanobacteria — cells roughly two microns across — slipped past the standard intake screens and collected on RO membrane surfaces (PressTV, September 9, 2026). The gelatinous material algae release during a bloom passes conventional sand filters and sticks to thin-film composite polyamide membranes. Surface chemistry changes,…

Key Takeaways Israel’s September 2026 desalination crisis showed that turbidity alone is not enough. You need the full parameter set to detect, manage and respond to a bloom that threatens RO membrane integrity (Times of Israel, September 2, 2026). Synechococcus cyanobacteria, cells of about a micron or two, released gelatinous substances that bypassed pretreatment and…

Key Takeaways The September 2026 Israel crisis — a cyanobacteria bloom that shut five plants supplying the bulk of the country’s drinking water — showed that algae is the most consequential biological threat to a coastal desalination intake (Times of Israel, September 2, 2026). Operating protocols stop seawater pumping once turbidity passes 5 NTU, which…